History of Mithraism

Mithras is first known to us as one of the gods worshipped by ancient Indopersian tribes who came to settle in Iran and India.

Mithras was the god of the covenant – the agreements
people made with each other. It was he who kept people to their
promises so that relative strangers could trust each others word and
collaborate. Mithras is the god of justice and of civilisation – the
human association that grows larger than the family group.

Zarathustra – who possibly lived around 1000 BC –
introduced the idea of Humanity – the Good Mind working consciously and
directly to support the good order of existence and the flourishing of
life.

Later philosophers such as Gautama the Buddha in India and Heraclitus
in Greece were inspired by the enlightened philosophy of Zarathustra
and spread its influence. Stoic philosophy also owes a debt to
Zarathustra.

The best of the Magi or Zoroastrian wizards worked to develop the
good religion and the good government of the country for the common
benefit.

King Cyrus the Great gained and ruled a world empire encompassing
half the population of the globe. He was known for his humanity and for
allowing the autonomy of his subject peoples.

Middle-eastern movements and religions such as Judaism, Gnosticism,
Christianity and Manichaism all absorb from the Persian tradition.

Roman Mithraism originates in about 100 AD at about the same time as
Roman Christianity. Roman Mithraism is in many ways a radical departure
from the earlier Persian Mithraism but shares a common veneration for
Mithras.

Roman Mithrites gather together in small fellowships or sodalities to
conduct mystery rituals in underground caverns known as spelea or
speluncae. There is emphasis on building solidarity between members and
in self-improvement. Some see the later Freemasonry movement as well as
the Sufi movement having roots in the Roman Mithraism.

Roman Mithraism is eventually eclipsed by Christianity but the latter absorbs many traits of the former.

Meanwhile Zoroastrianism is still flourishing in Iranian-speaking
lands and their neighbours though Buddhism, Christianity and later
Manichaism are also making inroads. The Arabic invasion into the West of
the Persian empire deals a major blow to Zoroastrianism as a state
religion though Zoroastrian thinking is absorbed into Islam. In later
centuries nomadic warriors destroy major cities of Persian culture in
the East. Some Zoroastrians flee to India and set up the Parsi community
still continuing today. Zoroastrians remaining in Iranian lands
decrease in numbers over the centuries under pressure from Islam. Yet
still a few remain especially around the city of Yazd.

Christianity remain dominant in Europe for many centuries. But in the
19th and 20th centuries academic interest in Zoroastrianism and
Mithraism grows.

In the last couple of decades religious interest in Zoroastrianism and Mithraism have been increasing.

Zoroastrianism particularly attracts those looking for a rational ethical system not dependent on religious superstition.

Mithraism is a label used by those more open to
spiritual and religious practices and draws not only from Zoroastrian
tradition but also the Indopersian and European pagan heritage , Greek
and Roman philosophy, Roman Mithraism and Christianity.